Lawyers for the families of 9/11 victims say they have substantial new evidence linking Saudi Arabia with the deadly attacks from 2001 -
Saudi Arabia asked on Thursday to be removed as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by victims of the attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001.Lawyer Michael Kellogg, acting on behalf of the Gulf state, told a judge in New York that Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with the attacks.
The judge did not immediately rule on the matter.In December 2013 Saudi Arabia was reinstated as a defendant in the case, after having been removed some nine years earlier by a judge who said the kingdom was protected from prosecution by sovereign immunity.
Kellogg argued that the 9/11 victims had failed to provide “admissible, concrete, competent evidence” that Saudi Arabia played a role in the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.He added that there was no evidence Riyadh knew in advance of the attacks.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who carried out the attacks were citizens of Saudi Arabia.Sean Carter, a lawyer for the 9/11 families, said the judge must consider whether Riyadh provided “operational assistance” to the hijackers.Carter argued that his team have evidence two Saudi government employees helped two of the 9/11 hijackers who could not speak English find a flat in San Diego on their arrival to the US.
- See more at: Saudi Arabia asks to be dropped from 9/11 lawsuit | Middle East Eye
Saudi Arabia asked on Thursday to be removed as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by victims of the attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001.Lawyer Michael Kellogg, acting on behalf of the Gulf state, told a judge in New York that Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with the attacks.
The judge did not immediately rule on the matter.In December 2013 Saudi Arabia was reinstated as a defendant in the case, after having been removed some nine years earlier by a judge who said the kingdom was protected from prosecution by sovereign immunity.
Kellogg argued that the 9/11 victims had failed to provide “admissible, concrete, competent evidence” that Saudi Arabia played a role in the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.He added that there was no evidence Riyadh knew in advance of the attacks.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who carried out the attacks were citizens of Saudi Arabia.Sean Carter, a lawyer for the 9/11 families, said the judge must consider whether Riyadh provided “operational assistance” to the hijackers.Carter argued that his team have evidence two Saudi government employees helped two of the 9/11 hijackers who could not speak English find a flat in San Diego on their arrival to the US.
- See more at: Saudi Arabia asks to be dropped from 9/11 lawsuit | Middle East Eye
